I am not going to deny an important aspect of my trip to Iran. Learning about the Iranian appetite for plastic surgery was a highlight and certainly sparked ideas for myself. Although I admit I think I should say something deeper now. It doesn't really add up, does it, thinking about biological reunions and assessing the likelihood of going under the knife. But what was most important in my world was cosmetic surgery, namely a nose job. Before visiting Tehran, I had never been to a place where rhinoplasty was not only a common thing but also a commodity. I wish you could see for yourself if you haven't already, it's rampant. What amazes me is how certain aspects of a country can be dominant internally while being virtually unknown internationally. We associate plastic surgery with Los Angeles and not Tehran. I certainly hadn't heard of this phenomenon, nor had anyone I knew. Now that I have witnessed the enormity of it, I don't understand why it is not a globally recognized feature of the country. Or is it simply that news about Iran is better suited to the topic of nuclear centrifuges? Maybe the black religious costume doesn't want to be seen next to a culture that abuses plastic enhancements because the image doesn't fit. But that sure makes for interesting news, doesn't it? The shock, the contradiction, that's what makes a story attractive. Just look at the headlines, “the rise of the plastic hi-jab” or “I swapped my hi-jab for a plastic version”. Not that they have plastic hi-jabs in Iran, so I apologize for that. However, there is no denying that this is a contradiction of what we are led to believe about culture. Perhaps it is the journalists who have not had the privilege of scrutinizing the whole heart of the paper...... ing, it will seem out of place and generally take up more space than intended for.From a point of view evolutionary view, I was also interested to know why the Iranian nose is so big. I tried to look up the reasons and ended up reading something about sand going up into nostrils or something. I didn't really get a sensible answer or a proper explanation, so I gave up trying to understand. When I look around, there are many other cultures where the nose may be overproportioned to the face and overtly large, but they don't buy nose jobs like they're bread. What all this means I cannot conclude. There are likely deep reasons or trends that have led to what we know today. For now, while I wasn't going to spend too much time trying to understand the reasons behind it, I would save my money to do what I always wanted..